Illinois COVID-19: Gov. JB Pritzker tightens restrictions for Regions, 5, 7, 8; IL reports 10,573 new cases, 14 deaths
DuPage, Kane, Kankakee and Will counties see Tier 2 restrictions
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Governor JB Pritzker announced additional COVID-19 mitigations for parts of Illinois as the state reports 10,573 new coronavirus cases and 14 additional deaths,.
The total number cases in Illinois now stands at 498,560 with a total of 10,210 deaths.
WATCH: Gov. Pritzker announces new COVID-19 mitigations
At his daily COVID-19 briefing Monday, Governor Pritzker announced Tier 2 mitigations for Region 7 (Will and Kankakee counties), Region 8 (DuPage and Kane counties) and Region 5 in southern Illinois.
Tier 2 mitigations include a limit of 6 people per table at restaurants and bars, a limit of ten people at meetings and social gatherings, both inside and outside. For organized group and recreational activities, there is a limit of 25 guests or 25% of the overall room capacity, both indoors and outdoors.
Schools are not impacted by the mitigation. For the full list of Tier 2 mitigations, see the end of this story.
"We are all on the same team. We want to hang out with our friends, go to our favorite restaurants and big weddings, all the things we've been sacrificing since March. But only a few paths to get us there," said Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Dept. of Public Health.
In west suburban Geneva, FoxFire owner KC Gulbro briefly obtained a court order allowing him to continue operating indoors when the first set of mitigations when into effect. That order has since been overturned.
"There's no help," Gulbro said. "There's no life preserver out there for us again. There's no PPP loan to help our staff. Again we're in limbo."
And case numbers continue to rise throughout the state, business advocates worry about even more stringent rules which may soon come.
"It's impacting our retail as well. We're all interconnected," said Kaylin Risvold, with the Naperville Chamber of Commerce. "The businesses, the restaurants, the retail, the taxes, the jobs. We're all interconnected and it's hard when things start to break down."
WATCH: Elmhurst restaurants prepare for stricter restrictions
At Tapville Social in downtown Naperville, a beautiful evening on the patio was tempered by news of more restrictions.
"You know, we've taken all the safety precautions with our staff and our customers, and now it's just another sort of knife in the back for us to continue to operate our business," said Joseph Tota, co-owner of Tapville Social. "Seeing the numbers I understand, but especially from, with our employees we hate to have to make hard decisions."
The patio outside Roberto's restaurant in Elmhurst is a good spot for lunch during this unseasonably warm November, but that is likely to change soon. And some diners may be looking longingly at the empty indoor tables - even though the governor has made indoor dining off-limits for now.
"It's the people's choice to actually come out and enjoy themselves and dine. It shouldn't be his choice," said Pasquale Moreci, of Roberto's restaurant in Elmhurst.
Despite spending thousands in safety equipment, Tony Gambino has closed the doors at Doc's Victory Pub for the second time this year. He said with indoor spaces closed, there's no way to keep this business going for now.
"To single out an industry, you're gonna put a lot of people out of work and unfortunately, on the second one, I think a lot of restaurants are not going to be able to reopen," Gambino said.
Gambino's company owns 15 restaurants. Two have already closed permanently, and he says if the current restrictions remain, more could be in danger.
Elmhurst's mayor sent a letter to Governor JB Pritzker on the subject last week, writing: "The livelihood of these businesses, their owners and their employees rely on your ability to modify this order. Elmhurst businesses have spent hundreds of thousands dollars to create a safe environment for their customers. Eliminating indoor dining during our cold weather season will be FATAL to many restaurants."
Gov. Pritzker, however, sounded unlikely to budge during his COVID-19 briefing Monday.
"Too many local officials across the state are ignoring their local public health departments and doing nearly nothing to assist their residents to follow even the most basic COVID-19 guidelines," Pritzker said.
Coronavirus testing: Where to get tested for COVID-19 in Illinois, Chicago area
Over a 24-hour period, officials said the state processed 64,760 specimens for a total 8,469,064.
The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from Nov. 2 to Nov. 8 is 12.4%.
RELATED: Myths about COVID-19 busted: Masks, indoor transmission, cold weather, and more
As of Sunday night, 4,409 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19, with 857 in the ICU and 376 patients on ventilators.
Hospitals brace for surge in admissions
Coronavirus testing: Where to get tested for COVID-19 in Illinois, Chicago area
The state announced mobile testing teams would be made available across northern Illinois in the next week.
Free testing will be available regardless of symptoms, insurance or immigration status.
Testing demand grows, and testing supplies run out
Here's where the sites will be:
COOK COUNTY:
DUPAGE COUNTY
GRUNDY COUNTY
KANKAKEE COUNTY
LAKE COUNTY
MCHENRY COUNTY
The deaths reported Monday included:
-Champaign County: 1 female 50s, 1 male 60s
- Carroll County: 1 male 60s
- Coles County: 1 female 50s, 1 male 70s
- Cook County: 1 male 50s, 1 female 70s, 3 males 80s, 1 male 90s
- DuPage County: 1 female 80s
- LaSalle County: 1 male 70s
- Macoupin County: 1 female 90s
- Tazewell County: 1 female 70s
- Will County: 1 female over 100
Tier 2 restrictions:
Bars:
-All bars close at 11pm and may reopen no earlier than 6am the following day
-No indoor service
- All bar patrons should be seated at tables outside
-No ordering, seating, or congregating at bar (bar stools should be removed)
-Tables should be 6 feet apart
-No standing or congregating indoors or outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting
-No dancing or standing indoors
-Reservations required for each party
-No seating of multiple parties at one table
-No tables exceeding 6 people
Restaurants
-All restaurants close at 11pm and may reopen no earlier than 6am the following day
-No indoor dining or bar service
-Tables should be 6 feet apart
-No standing or congregating indoors or outdoors while waiting for a table or exiting
-Reservations required for each party
-No seating of multiple parties at one table
-No tables exceeding 6 people
Meetings, social events and gatherings
-Limit to 10 guests in both indoor and outdoor settings *
-Applicable to professional, cultural and social group gatherings.
-Not applicable to students participating in-person classroom learning, sports or polling places.
-This does not reduce the overall facility capacity dictated by general business guidance such as office, retail, etc.
- No party buses
-Gaming and Casinos close at 11:00pm, are limited to 25 percent capacity, and follow mitigations for bars and restaurants, if applicable
Organized group recreational activities
-Limit to lesser of 25 guests or 25% of overall room capacity both indoors & outdoors *
-Groups limited to 10 or fewer people *
-All Sports Guidance effective August 15, 2020, remains in effect
-Outdoor Activities (not included in the above exposure settings) continue per current DCEO guidance
